OMEGA

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Lot n° 57
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Estimation :
1200 - 1800 EUR
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Result : 2 700EUR
OMEGA
Speedmaster MKII - reference 145.014 Steel chronograph watch with mechanical movement. - Steel tonneau case, graduated inner tachymeter bezel on a black and white painted fluted crown, screwed caseback. - Black dial, luminescent (tritium) painted baton hour markers, straight white painted hands, perpetual seconds at 9 o'clock, totalizers for elapsed minutes (over 30 minutes) at 3 o'clock and hours (over 12 hours) at 6 o'clock, central arrow second hand for the chronograph function painted in white. - Steel bracelet, steel folding clasp (1159). Case, dial, buckle and movement signed. Movement: mechanical with manual winding. Movement caliber 861 - numbered 28.083.045 (circa 1969) Case numbered 145.014 Diameter: 40 mm - Strap length: 20 cm Launched in 1969, this version of the Speedmaster is called Mark II. With its tonneau case and inner bezel for the tachymeter function, it has a tempered mineral glass with anti-reflective coating. The MK II is equipped with the mechanical caliber 861, an evolution of the column-wheel caliber 321 used in the early Speedmasters. A similar model can be found in the Omega Museum in Biel under the reference 1322 (page 607). Condition Report: Good overall condition, wear scratches and patina on the case, the watch is working at the time of the appraisal, with no guarantee of functioning over time, a service recommended. Speedmaster If one were to make a classification of the most famous watches in the world, the Omega Speedmaster would probably have its place on the podium. A brief history on the birth of this mythical watch is necessary and we leave it to the enthusiasts and amateurs to read the numerous books dedicated to it to refer to it for further information. Let's go back to the beginning. The Speedmaster is first of all a sport chronograph, its movement is its starting point. Designed by watchmaker Albert Piguet, this mechanical column-wheel chronograph caliber with 30-minute totalizers at 3 o'clock and 12-hour totalizers at 6 o'clock is derived from the famous caliber 27 CHRO, born in 1942. In 1946, the caliber 321, which equipped the first astronauts, was introduced. Initially integrated into classic models, it was given a sportier case in 1957 with the Speedmaster. Developed in the midst of the expansion of sports accessible to all, the Speedmaster was initially designed to calculate speed, thanks to its tachymetric scale engraved on its steel bezel, which would very quickly be painted black on aluminum. As the advertising brochures of the time show, this chronograph is part of a series of three sports watches, all launched in 1957: the Seamaster for water sports; the Railmaster, for railroad personnel, engineers and scientists; and finally the Speedmaster, intended for "doctors, engineers, athletes and their trainers, radio and television directors and technicians". Nothing in its conception foreshadowed an extraordinary history. Or rather, extraterrestrial! In 1962, NASA wanted to equip its astronauts with "wristwatches that could be used in a hostile environment, such as the lunar surface", as Deke Slayton, director of operational crews at the American space agency, put it. A dozen models were purchased discreetly from a Houston retailer named Corrigan's. After two years of testing, in 1964, six brands remained in the running to equip these space adventurers. The manufacturers, the vast majority of which were Swiss, delivered a dozen pieces each after the call for tenders issued by NASA. The resistance tests are "inhuman": heated to 93 degrees, then cooled to -18 degrees, soaked in pure oxygen for 2 days, shock tests up to 40G, placed in a vacuum chamber 15 times in a row... The ultimate drift tolerance is also 5 seconds per day after all these tests. Nobody in the watch industry had thought of these extreme tests for serial watches. And even if they had, no manufacturer would have had the means to carry them out! On March 1, 1965, the verdict was in: the Omega Speedmaster was "Flight Qualified by NASA for all Manned Space Missions". On March 23 of the same year, it became the first official watch aboard a manned mission, and on June 3, with Ed White, the Speed (for those who know it well) became the first watch in space. The night of July 21, 1969 marked a double turning point in history.
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